Background: Caregivers of relatives with Alzheimer’s disease are highly stressed and at risk for physical and psychiatric conditions. Interventions are usually focused on providing caregivers with knowledge of dementia, skills, and/or support, to help them cope with the stress. This model, though true to a certain extent, ignores how caregiver stress is construed in the […]
Objectives: : To examine whether leisure activities can alleviate depressive symptoms among nursing home residents with very mild to mild dementia.; Methods: : A cluster-randomized open-label controlled design. Thirty-six residents with at least moderate depressive symptoms were randomized by home into three conditions-mahjong (a.k.a. mah-jongg), tai chi, and handicrafts (placebo). Activities were conducted three times […]
Background: This study investigated whether brief exposure to information has any effect on stigmatizing attitudes towards older people with dementia, and how people responded to this medical diagnosis.; Methods: 494 adults were randomly assigned to three groups differentiated by experimental conditions. Group A (control) responded to questions on stigma directly. Group B (symptom) read two […]
Objectives: To examine the effects of cognitive stimulation (mahjong) and physical exercise (tai chi [TC]) on cognitive performance in persons with dementia.; Design: Cluster-randomized open-label controlled design.; Setting: Nursing homes.; Participants: One hundred ten residents, most of whom were cholinesterase-inhibitor naive. Inclusion criteria were Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) = 10-24 and suffering from at least very mild […]